Myth of the week #4

This is one of the Ten Judges of Hell. The concept was originally Chinese but was introduced to Japanese Toaism around the turn of the first millennium.

It appears to be very similar to the Catholic idea of purgatory (except that doesn't exist any more...I always wonder what happened to the poor souls that were there when it was closed down). Put simply, you go to heaven if you're good, you go to hell if you're bad however, if (the all-seeing, omnipotent) god isn't certain, you have to be judged by the ten judges in various courtroom struggles.

Mind you, things are not as grim as they may appear. The defendent gets the excellent legal skills of Jizo Bosatsu, who stands up for them.

At some stage in the 14th century, the ten judges were joined by the Thirteen Buddhist Deities.

How can ANYONE take this nonsense seriously?